1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing an α-alumina powder.
2. Description of Related Art
An α-alumina powder is an aluminum compound represented by the formula Al2O3, and is widely used, for example, as a raw material for producing a sintered body such as a translucent tube. An α-alumina powder is required to have high content of α phase and relatively high BET specific surface area, since a sintered body of high strength is obtained easily and such an α-alumina powder can be easily dispersed in water.
As the method for producing an α-alumina powder, there are known, for example, methods of calcining an alumina hydrate in the presence of a seed crystal (Mineralogy Association magazine vol.19, No.1, pp.21-41, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 62-128918). However, in the methods described above, it is difficult to obtain an α-alumina powder having high content of α phase and relatively high BET specific surface area.